Air mixing device



1968 R. M. WARREN, JR. ETAL 3,395,633

AIR MIXING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 22. 1966 IN E Aoazkr ma s/ M! Mmm h. kamwmasnl Fug a MMM/ ATTORNEYj AIR MIXING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 22, 1966 & M r u x 3 mm W. R M MM w 6 r W In... 3 n & i A F 2 2 W 3 4 I P 3 f I R w 3 I. I f 17/ a Q M M 5 .H INI 0/! 4 P O p p D KY l7 0 D u United States Patent 3,395,633 AIR MIXING DEVICE Robert M. Warren, Jr., Lincroft, N.J., and Mark H. Kornhauser, Rockaway Beach, N.Y., assignors to Buensod- (SJtacey Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Filed Aug. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 574,072 6 Claims. (Cl. 98-38) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a high pressure air conditioning system, and more particularly to a room unit for the distribution of air in such a system wherein the unit includes both a valve for mixing warm and cold air and a constant volume unit so arranged in the unit that the height of the unit is low.

High pressure air conditioning systems employ air ducts of comparatively small size which require considerably less space than the relatively large air ducts of the more conventional low pressure air conditioning systems. In such systems, a unit is provided in each room with the unit mixing warm and cold air streams and then distributing the mixed air streams within the room. Since this conditioned or mixed air, which is discharged directly into the room at a high velocity, tends to create drafts which are objectionable to occupants, various structures for units have been devised in an attempt to thoroughly mix and uniformly distribute the air. Up to the present time, such room units have tended to be rather large in size and hence presented problems in the decorating and arranging of furnishings in the room. Further, any reduction in the size of the unit tended to decrease the uniformity of distribution within the room of the conditioned air.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a high pressure air conditioning unit which thoroughly mixes Warm and cold air streams and then effectively distributes the conditioned air within the room.

A further object of the invention is to provide a high pressure air conditioning unit constructed to have 'a low silhouette but which efiectively mixes and distributes air within the room.

In one aspect of the invention, the high pressure air conditioning unit includes a housing mounted on the floor of a room. There is a horizontal partition within the housing extending between the end walls thereof and the front and rear of the housing. An opening is provided in one end of the partition to form a communicating passage between the upper and lower horizontal passages formed by the partition. A mixing valve is positioned within the lower horizontal passage and has its inlets connected to warm and cold air ducts. The mixed air is discharged from the valve to flow along the lower horizontal passage to a constant volume control unit which maintains constant the volume of air to be distributed within the room regardless of the proportions mixed of the warm and cold air. The conditioned air is then discharged from the constant volume control unit and flows upwardly through the partition opening to the upper horizontal passage. An elongated opening is provided in the top wall of the housing through which the mixed air is distributed into the room.

3,395,633 Patented Aug. 6, 1968 ice Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying description and drawings which are merely exemplary.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the unit of the present invention mounted in a room;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the unit taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the unit taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the unit taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings wherein like reference symbols indicate the same parts throughout the various views, one specific embodiment of the invention will be described in detail.

As may be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the unit of the invention is indicated generally at 10 and comprises a housing 11 having end walls 12 and 13, a front wall 14, and a top wall 15. Within the housing is a horizontal partition 16 extending from the front to the rear of the housing and from end wall 12 to a point just short of end wall 13 so as to define an opening 17. The horizontal partition defines upper horizontal passage 18 and lower horizontal passage 19.

The housing 11 is also provided with a rear wall 20 which rests against wall 21 of the enclosure or room in which the unit 10 is located. The housing 11 is also provided with a bottom wall 22 which rests upon the floor 23 of the enclosure.

One end of the housing bottom wall 22 is depressed as indicated at 24 and defines a pan 25 which fits into a corresponding recess 26 formed in the floor 23 of the enclosure. The pan 25 is provided with downwardly extending ducts 27 and 28 which are connected to warm and cold air ducts 29 and 30 leading from the central air conditioning unit.

Mounted upon the pan 25 is an air mixing unit indicated generally at 31 and comprising passages 32 and 33 which are connected to the pan ducts 27 and 28, respectively. The passages 32 and 33 extend upwardly at angles, as illustrated in FIG. 2, and the valve member 34 is pivotally mounted at the intersection of these passages. Valve member 34 is pivotally connected to a rod 35 which extends from an actuator 36. The actuator 36 provides for automatic control of the proportions of warm and cold air mixed and is connected to a thermostat through connection 37 so as to be temperature-responsive to conditions within the room.

The mixed air is discharged through valve opening 38 and flows through the lower horizontal passage 19 to a constant volume control unit 39. The unit 39 is of the type illustrated and described in US. Patent 2,890,716 issued on June 16, 1959. Essentially, the unit 39 is responsive to upstream pressures of the conditioned air discharged from mixing valve 31 so as to maintain with stability the flow of air within the unit for distribution within the room.

The top wall 15 of the housing is provided with an elongated outlet 40 for distributing the conditioned air within the room.

If necessary for the proper operation of the unit, baffies 41 and 42 may be provided in the lower horizontal passage 19. To improve the efficiency of the unit, the lower horizontal passage 19 may be provided with insulation as indicated at 43 in FIG. 4.

The entire unit 11 is airtight in view of the high pressure and high velocity of the air streams passing therethrough.

In the operation of the present unit, warm and cold air streams are mixed together in the mixing valve in the proper proportions as determined by the temperature responsive actuator 36. The mixed or conditioned air then flows horizontally through the lower horizontal passage of the unit to the constant volume control unit 39. This unit, which is responsive to the upstream air pressures, maintains stable the volume of air which is admitted to the upper horizontal passage 18 through the opening 17 for distribution within the room through the outlet 40. Thus, the conditioned air is flowed horizontally in one direction, then upwardly through the partition opening 17 and its direction reversed to flow horizontally in the upper horizontal passage 18 from which it is distributed to the room through outlet 40.

The horizontal flow of the mixed air in reversed directions enables the entire height of the unit to be considerably lower than conventional units and at the same time provides for an eflective distribution of the conditioned air within the room. Further, the horizontal positioning of the air mixing valve and the constant volume control unit permits effective control and regulation of the conditioned air while the air is flowing in a horizontal direction within the unit prior to the distribution of the conditioned air into the room. The distribution of the air into the room from its horizontal flow in the upper horizontal passage greatly decreases the occurrence of drafts in the room which might prove objectionable to occupants.

It is pointed out that the horizontally flowing air stream which is moving at a high velocity is not discharged directly into the room through the outlet in the top wall of the unit but that this air must move at right angles from the direction of the air stream to pass outwardly through the unit outlet.

It is to be understood that changes can be made in the various details of construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention except as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a high pressure air conditioning unit, the combination of a housing having a low silhouette mounted on the floor of an enclosure and having front, top and end walls, a horizontal partition within said housing between said end walls and spaced below said top wall to define upper and lower horizontal passages, a mixing valve within said lower horizontal passage and having inlets adjacent one end of said housing adapted for connection to warm and cold air ducts, and a constant volume, control unit in said lower horizontal passage in the same flow path with said valve, there being an opening in said partition at one end on the side of said control unit away from said mixing valve and communicating between said lower and upper passages, said top wall having an elongated outlet therein.

2. A high pressure air conditioning unit according to claim 1 wherein said opening is at one end of said partition, said mixing valve being at the other end of said lower horizontal passage, and the elongated outlet in said top wall being inwardly of said partition opening.

3. A high pressure air conditioning unit according to claim 1 and further including a pan at the bottom of said housing projecting downwardly therefrom and having two 4 openings therein for connection to warm and cold air ducts.

4. A high pressure air conditioning unit according to claim 1 and further including warm and cold air ducts extending upwardlyand angularly into said housing from the bottom thereof, said mixing valve being connected to said ducts at the upper ends thereof and having its out let directed upwardly whereby the mixed air is directed against said horizontal partition and diverted laterally through andto one end of said lower horizontal passage and upwardly through said partition opening, and thence reversely through said upper horizontal passage to be discharged through said outlet.

5. In a high pressure air conditioning unit-the combination of an enclosure having a low silhouette and front, top and end walls, means communicating with the bottom of said housing adjacent one end of said enclosure for introducing vertically flowing warm and cold air streams, means within said enclosure for mixing said warm and cold air streams, mixing valve means within said housing for flowing the mixed air horizontally toward one end of said housing, a constant volume control unit in said horizontally flowing air in the same flow path as said valve means, means within said housing for reversing the direction of flow of said horizontal air stream from said one end and guiding said reversed air stream above said first horizontally flowing air stream, and outlet means in said top wall intermediate the ends thereof for distributing the reversed horizontal air flow outwardly of said enclosure.

6. In an arrangement for high pressure air conditioning having a low silhouette, the combination of an enclosure including a floor and a wall upstanding therefrom, warm and cold air ducts extending upwardly through said floor, adjacent said wall, there being a recess in said floor surrounding said ducts, an elongated housing with front, top and end walls mounted against said wall with one end of said housing being over said floor recess, a mixing valve within said housing connected to said warm and cold air ducts, a constant volume control device within said housing between said mixing valve and the other end of said housing and in the same flow path as said control, means within said housing for guiding the flow of air from said mixing valve horizontally to said constant volume control device to said other end of the housing, means within said housing for reversing the flow of the horizontally flowing air, and outlet means in said top wall for distributing the reversed horizontal flow of mixed air upwardly from said housing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,759,490 8/1956 Phillips et al. 9838 X 2,948,210 8/1960 Conlan 98-38 2,936,123 5/1960 Kreuttner 236-13 3,250,203 5/1966 Spradling et al 9838 ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

W. E. WAYNER, Assistant Examiner. 

